Dillard's Stock Rallies After Upbeat Sales Results

Shares of Dillard's Inc. rallied 2% in after-hours trade Monday, after the department store chain's better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter sales helped offset a slight miss in profit. Earnings for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose to $130.5 million, or $3.17 a share, from $119.1 million, or $2.71 a share, in the year-earlier period. That compares with the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $3.18 a share. Revenue rose to $2.14 billion from $2.03 billion, topping analyst forecasts of $2.1 billion, as a strong sales trends in ladies apparel, shoes and juniors and childrens apparel offset weakness in home and furniture. Same-store sales grew 3%, while the average of two analysts submitting estimates to FactSet was 1%. The stock has advanced 4% over the past three months through Monday's close, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.2%.